


Sane

by SunOfIcarus



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Lack of Communication, Mild Gore, Misunderstandings, Sick Character, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:14:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27520597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunOfIcarus/pseuds/SunOfIcarus
Summary: Sapnap gets injured after George and Dream leave him in the dark. Certain that they don't care about him anymore, Sapnap distances himself, while Dream and George wonder why Sapnap seems to be getting more ill each day.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 303





	1. Why Am I Frightened if It's All Just a Game

If Sapnap had known that Dream and George were going to ditch him, he probably wouldn’t have agreed to do this shit in the first place.

“Guys?” Sapnap calls out. He turns in place, but it hardly does him any good. With the potions they had taken earlier, everything just looks dark. The torch he brought had been,  _ generously,  _ if you had asked him, given to George earlier.

He can hardly see his hand when he holds it up- searching for George and Dream would be impossible.

“Where are you?” He calls out again.

It doesn’t help that the sky has far turned from the blue hues of earlier that morning. It had been fun, then. To run around in the silhouette of the world around them, tripping over ground they couldn’t see and nature they couldn’t imagine.

It’s simply dark, now. Stars are etched across the sky in a messy mosaic, but the moon is nowhere in sight, and the stars aren’t bright enough to illuminate any path below him.

A frustrated huff escapes his lips. It wasn’t that he wasn’t used to being the butt of the joke, he just…

A sigh, this time. He doesn’t know.

Sure, they would tease him, and laugh at him, and leave him behind for some funny bit they planned out. They just usually didn’t play it out for this long.

He takes a few experimental steps forward, testing the ground carefully before fully putting his foot down. There had been enough tripping earlier that he knew his lesson.

“C’mon, guys, where the honk are you?” He stops in place again, not willing to go too far from where he currently was. If they had lost him on accident, as he hoped, it was best that he stay put. They could find him easier that way.

If they had lost him on purpose, as he thought, he didn’t want to play a game of Marco Polo. Best to wait for them to get bored and find him again.

“You guys out there?” He says casually- bored, even. Leaning on his sword, he keeps talking. “I’m not going anywhere! If you want me to chase you down, you’ll have to ask!”

Nothing responds to him. The silence around him settles uncomfortably. He rolls up his sleeves, if only to give his fingers something to do.

“Piss Baby,” he says loudly. Still nothing. The goading route is a classic, he supposes, and hey, it lets him let off steam.

“Piss Baby Dream! George sucks! I’m better than them! Dream is stupid, George is ugly, they both-”

The sound is almost echoing through the trees, drowning out the silence and overpowering the crickets nearby.

He supposed that’s why he didn’t hear them before they got to him.

His yelling stops abruptly as something slimy and grotesque grabs his arm. Startled, he rips his arm away and steps back, only to bump into another figure behind him.

“ _ Fuck _ ,” he cries out, pivoting to grab the diamond sword from his sheath-

His hand didn’t even reach the hilt before something sharp and hard dug its way into his forearm.

A cry gets stuck in his throat as he tries to rip his arm away from the creature’s teeth, but its jaws stay clamped over his flesh.

He winces as he kicks his leg out and hits it in its chest. The figure’s teeth drag across his skin as it loses its grip.

Wasting no time, he grabs the sword, spins and swings in one fluid motion.

The cold diamond hits the flesh(?) in front of him, and he hears a sickening thump as it hits the ground. The fight isn’t over, though, and he knows it.

It would help, he thinks, if he could fucking see, but he does the best he can. Swinging wildly but firmly, he hits something else in tandem.

After a few more swings that result in nothing, he pauses.

The silence is back.

He can’t see how bad his arm is. Instead, he gingerly reaches out with two fingers before recoiling.

It stings.  _ Bad. _ Worse than he thinks a bite probably should.

“Dream? George?” Sapnap calls out again. He’s running off of adrenaline, now, so decides to fuck it. He begins to stumble forward, eager to find some semblance of safety. His heart is still beating against his chest in a rush of anxiety. All he needs is Dream, or George, or anyone who can help him, make sure he’s okay-

It’s a faint whisper that alerts him to their presence. He’s lucky he heard it at all.

“George, shut up!” It’s accompanied with a small giggle.

His fingers twitch on the handle of his sword. “Dream, come on, stop, dude.”

Finally, and so wonderfully that Sapnap almost begins to cry, George lights his torch. It hardly illuminates anything but his face and the area around him, but he doesn’t care.

“Awe, was wittle Sapnap scared?” George taunts, accentuating the ‘w’ sounds on his lips.

“Shut up, George,” Sapnap mumbles, reaching out to yank the torch out of George’s hands.

A hand reaches out to smack Sapnap’s back and he almost yelps. He’s quick to turn, ready to fight before he’s hurt again-

A laugh erupts from Dream. “Sapnap! Are you scared of the dark or something? Calm down!”

“It’s not funny, dude!” Sapnap yells back.

“Poor Sappy is scared of the dark,” George says, brushing past Sapnap to get to Dream. “Can’t take care of himself, can he?”

Sapnap bites back a response. He can feel the stinging in his arm, a throbbing ache that’s refusing to leave, but he elects to ignore it.

He could take care of himself just fine. He didn’t need the help of people who didn’t want to be there for him, anyway.

“C’mon, let’s just leave,” he mutters.

He’ll find a way to take care of it when they get home.

***

It’s a miracle, Sapnap first decides, that he manages to make it to his room without suspicion arising from Dream or George. The feeling quickly sinks, though. Is it a miracle that he managed to go unseen when they hardly pay attention in the first place?

It’s the first time he’s managed to see the injury in full lighting.

George may be the medic of the group, but Sapnap isn’t an idiot.

It’s bad. Blood is dripping down his arm, occasionally bubbling where the teeth didn’t sink in as deep. The skin is an irritated red. Where the teeth were dragged against the flesh, long cuts are now in place.

But hey, it’s not the worst shape Sapnap has been in.

He walks towards the corner of his room, grabbing some tissues from his bedside counter. He lets the blood seep into the deep white of the paper.

Grabbing a water bottle (it’s a few days old, but who’s counting), he places an old towel on the floor. He holds his arm above the towel and pours the water over his arm, wincing as the stinging increases.

As quickly as he can, he dabs up the mess of water and blood, before wrapping it in the bandages he has in his pack.

He frowns. His handiwork isn’t the best, for certain, but it’s not what really worries him.

It still hurts. Usually, the pain subsides after a little bit, certainly after it gets wrapped up. Perhaps flaring up if bothered or touched, but otherwise being in pretty good shape.

There’s a moment where Sapnap considers asking George for help, but he quickly pushes it aside.

_ I don’t need their help. If they don’t want to be here with me, then I can make it on my own. _

He does manage to convince himself of such. Even as he leaves the bandages on the bedside table where anyone could walk in and see, even as he makes extra noise as he tosses off his shirt and gets ready for bed so someone might come in and interact with him.

No one does.

He lays, injury up towards the ceiling, and takes a deep breath.

He doesn’t need people who don’t want him.

He’ll manage without them.

He’ll manage without them all.


	2. If Everything's Certain, Well I'm Certainly Offended

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sapnap's injury turns into a massive illness. Dream and George find out the hard way.

It doesn’t get better.

He changes the bandages every night, for what it’s worth. Yet every time, it looks even worse than the night before.

The bright, irritated redness of his skin has since turned into a deep maroon shade. Purple edges around the wound, which doesn’t fucking heal no matter how much Sapnap cleans or addresses it.

And it hurts. It fucking hurts so bad. Every second of every day is spent gritting his teeth, forcing himself to continue as normal. Praying to Notch that his body would get its shit together and finally heal.

He had considered downing a health potion and calling it good, but he didn’t want to risk it. They only had two, left for emergencies and special outings like the night before. If he took one, Dream and George would inevitably realize that one is missing and go to him.

Which brought on another sore topic for Sapnap: Dream and George.

They didn’t seem to realize that something was wrong. That Sapnap spent more time in his room than with them, rejected any opportunity to go out and try some stupid potion that George had mixed up.

They didn’t care. Sapnap doesn’t know if they ever did.

It made sense, really, when it came down to it. What need was there for a third person? Did they even ask for him to be there, or did he just stick his nose into something without asking?

They don’t care about him.

It’s a mantra he repeats as he slowly gets ill.

When he can’t stop sweating, his forehead and cheeks achingly warm, he reminds himself exactly why Dream and George go out without him.

A few days later, when he can’t stand without his legs shaking, knees threatening to give out underneath his own weight, his mind provides the phrase muddled and fogged in his mind.

When he stumbles to the bathroom and vomits, he can practically feel the sentence pass his lips at the same time.

They don’t care about him.

And with how this is going, he’s not sure they ever will.

***

Something is wrong with Sapnap.

Dream mentally curses himself for not realizing sooner. He had assumed that Sapnap was just bitter about their prank from earlier that week, holding a grudge over something as inconsequential as leaving someone in the dark.

It wasn’t until George and Dream both came home late from a trek that they finally noticed.

The house was dark as they entered, the only light illuminating the room coming from the cracks in Sapnap’s door.

“Sapnap?” Dream calls out experimentally. There’s a moment of soft silence before the door creaks open.

Sapnap is silhouetted by the sickly yellow light behind him.

“Finally coming out to visit, huh Sap?” George teases.

Sapnap doesn’t say anything. Just stumbles forward, almost tripping over himself.

“Sap?” Dream tries again.

“Leave me alone,” Sapnap mumbles.

George glances towards Dream with eyebrows drawn. “Sapnap-” he starts, reaching towards him before Sapnap stumbles away.

“Leave me  _ alone _ ,” he slurs, harsher than before.

“Are you drunk?”

“No, I just- I just need to get to the bathroom-”

Dream huffs. “C’mon Sapnap, don’t be-” Dream reaches out, grabbing onto Sapnap’s arm to stop him from walking by, and Sapnap  _ screams. _

Dream’s quick to flinch back as Sapnap jumps. A sound akin to a whimper releases from his throat.

The silence overtakes them again. He can hardly see Sapnap in the dim of the room, but the air around them feels thick; suffocating, even.

“Sapnap,” George starts, careful and slow. “What’s wrong?”

“N- nothing, it’s fine.” He takes another step towards the bathroom before Dream steps in front of him.

“It’s obviously not. What happened, Sap?”

“Nothing, dude,” Sapnap says with a grim, almost panicked tone to his voice. “Just let me pass you-”

The lights flick on, stopping Sapnap who winces at the harsh brightness now shining in his eyes.

“Guys-  _ George! _ ”

George is near them before Dream can even blink. He grabs Sapnap by the wrist, ignoring his protests as he tugs his arm out and rolls up the sleeve.

_ He looks fucking terrible. _

It’s obvious, in the artificial hallway light. He’s wrecked in sweat, hair plastered to his head with grease. His skin has a sick yellow undertone. There are dark bags under his eyes, only accentuated by the paleness of his skin.

But his arm-  _ his fucking arm- _ is what concerns Dream the most.

It’s obvious it hadn’t been treated. Not correctly, anyway, Dream can see that even through the bandages. They’re messy, not wrapped or tied correctly. Shades of browns splotch through, showing that they hadn’t been changed in a long time.

“Jesus, Sapnap,” Dream grimaces.

“George- George, fucking stop-”

George doesn’t stop. He keeps his hold on Sapnaps wrist, unwrapping the bandages with one hand.

“Holy fucking shit, Sapnap,” Dream breathes out.

It had looked bad, before, but more neglected than anything.

This, though. This looked fucking bad.

It’s a wicked bite. Blood has dried and crusted along the injury lines, and there are some parts where a type of ooze seeps out. The skin is a deep maroon shade, edging on purple along the broken skin. The splotches of purple seep into lines along the veins. The bite drags, a little bit, creating a mix of punctured and cut skin.

Sapnap attempts to tug away from George again, but he doesn’t let up.

“George- George please, I-” he tries to take a step back, but George is still looking at his bite in horror. “I need- I need to leave, I’m gonna-” He doesn’t get to finish the statement. With a wrench of his arm, he finally breaks George’s grip, but immediately loses his balance and falls to the floor.

Then there’s the sound of retching. Maybe Dream should be wincing, feel anything towards the sickening display on the ground in front of him, but he can’t. All he feels is a deep unsettlement, a rooted fear that comes with watching Sapnap heave on the floor.

His thoughts are interrupted with a sigh from George. He watches his friend lean down, brushing Sapnap’s hair off his forehead. He stays there until Sapnap takes a trembling gulp of air.

“Sap,” he says sternly. “How long have you had this bite?”

The man on the floor just shakes his head.

“Sapnap, I’m being serious. This is serious.”

Sapnap shrugs. “I don’t know,” he croaks out. “A week, I think.”

Dream can’t help the sharp intake of breath he takes. A week? Had Sapnap been ill this entire time? Or had it just overtaken him tonight?

George just releases another sigh. “Has anyone looked at it?”

A shake of the head.

He leans in to inspect the bite closer. “It’s infected. You probably didn’t clean it up well.” He brushes his fingers on his pants as he rises. “Dream, stay with Sap. Get him situated, keep him on the floor. I’ll see what we can do for it.”

Dream nods helplessly. George always did know more about medical remedies than he did.

He watches George disappear around the hall. Then he turns to Sapnap.

“Hey, Sappy,” he says gently.

Sapnap doesn’t even bother looking at him. Instead, he stares at the pile of vomit on the ground next to him.

“Let’s move you away from that, okay? We can sit in the bathroom instead, in case you have another emergency.”

He hesitates before nodding. His eyes are half-lidded, and Dream ignores the tears that seem to be resting on his lashes.

Dream sits first, spreading his legs out as he comes into contact with the cold tile. He motions for Sapnap to sit in between them.

It was usually the point where Sapnap would make a joke. Say something about cuddling the homies, or maybe playfully protest before jumping on him.

It doesn’t happen like that. Sapnap simply nods, before turning around sitting. He leans his back against Dream’s chest.

“I’m hot,” Sapnap mumbles.

“I know, I know. You just have to wait for George, okay? George can make you feel better.”

The man just nods.

A few minutes pass before George pushes the door open. He’s holding a bowl, along with a few potions in his grip.

He sets the bowl down and dips a towel into it. He then hands the towel to dream.

“Put it on his forehead. We need to get his temperature down.”

Dream would have laughed, if the situation didn’t feel so serious. Wrapping the white hand-towel around Sapnap’s forehead, it almost looked like his stupid bandana.

Dream makes an effort to hold the cold cloth against Sapnap’s warm skin as George settles on the ground. He pulls out two potions, which Dream recognizes as the two healing potions they had stored in one of their chests.

It was meant for emergencies; Daring escapes, stray creeper blasts, things like that. But one look at Sapnap had the blond man pushing the thought aside.

“Alright, Sap, I’m going to need you to drink this. Can you do that for me?” George asks, holding one of the bottles out in a gentle hand.

Sapnap nods weakly.

“Good. I’ll help you, okay?” He takes the cork off of the bottle and sets it aside. With his free hand, he gently lifts Sapnap’s chin. Dream watches the pink liquid slowly leave the glass.

The bottle empties, and George leans back.

They both watch Sapnap with a careful intensity.

Healing potions were supposed to work fast. Instantaneous, even, at least the ones that George made.

His skin stays a sickly pale. His eyebrows are still slightly upturned in pain, his chest giving an inconsistent rise and fall.

“George-”

“Give it a moment,” George whispers.

A minute passes. Then another.

The bite on Sapnap’s arm looks just as bad as it did before.

“Listen, Sapnap,” George starts. “I’m going to try something, alright? It’s going to hurt, though, but we have to do it. Do you understand?”

The man begins to shake his head. “No- No, I don’t want to, I don’t- I don’t-”

Dream dunks the towel into the cool water before pressing it against Sapnap’s head again. He makes gentle shushing sounds. “You have to, okay, Sap? If you want to feel better, you have to do it.”

George reaches out to grab his wrist, but Sapnap pulls it away.

“Dream, hold him for me,” George says, and Dream tightens his grip around Sapnap’s waist. “It’ll be alright, Sap. The sooner we get this done with, the sooner you’ll get better.”

He grabs Sapnap’s wrist again, tighter, this time. Ripping the cork out of the bottle with his teeth, he places the bottle as close as he can to Sapnap’s skin without touching it, before slowly pouring the contents onto the wound.

The sound that comes out of Sapnap’s mouth is raw, and wretched, and unimaginable.

“ _ Dream,  _ Dream please, it hurts, it hurts-”

He’s trying to wriggle out of Dream’s grip, so he wraps his arms around him tighter.

“I know, Sap, I know. You’re alright, you’ll be okay, everything is okay-”

“ _ It hurts, it hurts,” _ Sapnap is crying by this point, the tears finally pushing past his lashes and rolling down his cheeks, “ _ Dream, George, I- I can’t- Please stop, please- it hurts, it hurts-” _

He’s hiccuping, and sobbing, and those raw and wretched and unimaginable sounds keep tearing out of his throat. His arm is spasming in an attempt to free himself from George’s grip, but George holds firm. Dream can see him with his lip between his teeth, trying not to spill unnecessarily from how much Sapnap is moving.

“Hold him better, Dream,” George manages to say between gritted teeth.

“Shh, shh. You’re okay, Sap, you’re okay,” Dream murmurs in an attempt to calm him. He can feel his own head starting to hurt with the tears he’s holding back. “You’re alright, Sappy. We’re almost done, it’s almost over.”

And soon enough, it is over. George finally lets go of Sap’s arm, leaning back on his heels to watch the progress from afar.

Sapnap doesn’t even bother to bring his arm towards himself. He lets it lay limp in his lap. He’s still sobbing, desperately trying to take in air and in turn choking on it.

“ _ It hurts, it hurts, _ ” he whispers, repeating as though his body refused to let him know anything else.

Dream runs soft fingertips through Sapnap’s hair. “It’s over now, we’re done. You’re alright.”

The man still sobs. He sobs until he tires himself out, going limp against Dream’s chest with his few final tears taking their last stand on their cheek.

Dream doesn’t speak.

Neither does George.

They both see it. Neither of them want to point it out.

Until Dream finally does.

“It looks the same.”

Sapnap’s arm is still as fucked as before he drank the health potion, before they forced him to sit there as they poured the potion over his injury in an attempt to do something, anything.

George slowly lets himself sit on the floor, rubbing his hand over his face. “Shit.”

It’s a moment so insignificant and small that Dream hopes he forgets it.

He doesn’t think he ever will.

Sitting in a bathroom, best friend ill and shaking in his arms, his other best friend practically curled in on himself in an attempt to not look the obvious right in the face.

It feels as though they could lay in this state of grim desperation for the rest of time.

It’s George who gets up first. Gently gathering the empty potion bottles at his feet, he places them at the bathroom sink.

“We’ll have to take watch. With how bad this seems to be, I don’t want to leave him by himself.”

Dream nods in agreement, so George continues.

“I’ll take the first shift. I’ll be better in assessing the situation.” He smiles, a small, pitiful tug at the corner of his lips. “You seem preoccupied with him at the moment, anyway.”

And suddenly, Dream is aware of how tired he is. Aware of the weight pushing against him, aware of the way his arm aches from pushing his fingers through Sap’s hair for so long. So he gives a simple nod, deciding to worry about everything else later.

With luck, Sapnap would be feeling at least a bit better by morning.

Without luck, they’d have to find a different way to help. Otherwise, Sapnap may… Well.

He hoped they’d have luck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter is a bit wack! It is late at night when I am posting it, and I didn't proofread it or anything, I apologize.
> 
> Thank you to those who left comments and kudos last time! You all are so greatly appreciated. I literally can't check my emails for this site in public because I'll see someone left a comment and get really giddy. You all are the absolute best.
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter! Didn't go too far into what Dream and George think about the whole mess, but I'm planning on such when I go into the next chapter.
> 
> Thank you all for reading! I'll be seeing you next chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Making good on my promise to write Sapnap angst
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading! Leave comments, kudos, or whatever you want, just the works. Feel free to let me know what you liked, what you didn't, comments, criticism, etc!
> 
> Title of this fic based on the song "Sane" by Haley Heynderickx


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